For the first time in months, Donald Trump is not leading the Republican pack in the national polls. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has ended the real estate tycoon's 100-plus day streak at the top of the field, taking a four point lead in a new New York Times/CBS poll released Tuesday.
Carson garnered 26 percent support among nationwide Republican primary voters, compared to Trump with 22 percent, still within the 6 percent margin of sampling error.
It marks the first time since mid-July that Trump has not led all GOP candidates on the national scene, according to The New York Times.
Following Trump in distant third was Florida Sen. Marco Rubio with 8 percent, trailed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina who are tied with 7 percent. Four candidates - Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee - each received 4 percent.
Carson's gains can largely be attributed to an increase in support among two particular subgroups: women and evangelicals, both who now seem to prefer him over Trump. Male support for the two candidates is practically tied. Carson performs better among right-leaning Republicans as well as those who identify with the Tea Party, while Trump does well with moderates and leads among people without a college degree, according to CBS News.
Trump seems to have a stronger fanbase, with half of his backers saying they are committed to voting for him, compared to 19 percent who say they are locked in for Carson.
The poll comes one day before the third Republican primary debate on Wednesday, which is expected to shake up the field even more, especially since seven in 10 of those who expressed support for a candidate in the poll said it was too early to wholeheartedly commit to supporting a candidate. Only 28 percent of respondents said they had already made up their minds.
Carson's national front-runner debut coincided with him also gaining the lead in two Iowa polls released last week. A RealClearPolitics average of polling data from the last five polls shows Carson clearly dominating in the first-voting state with 29 percent compared to Trump's 20 percent. Trump maintains a commanding lead in every other state, notes Breitbart.
Check out the poll below:
Toplines for a.m CBS-NYT GOP poll
